Lovingly pinched from MetalReview.com: Sometimes you find the thing you seek in the place you least expect it. Imagine my surprise in finding a way to scratch my ever-present Mercyful Fate itch with a doom metal album, namely The Ritualist, the second album from North Carolina duo Hour of 13.

There are moments on this album when guitarist / bassist / drummer Chad Davis so captures the spirit of Shermann and Denner's playing that I can almost hear the King singing, and song titles such as "Evil Inside", "Soldiers of Satan" and "Demons All Around Me" suggest a thematic kinship as well.

The Ritualist is a doom album first and foremost, as evidenced by the album’s slow pacing, mournful vocals and sinister atmosphere, but Davis's injection of traditional and NWOBHM styled riffing into the band's music helps distinguish Hour of 13 from the many doom bands chained to the Black Sabbath template.

Continue reading: MetalReview.com – Review of Hour Of 13 – The Ritualist.